Automobile hood and hinge



Aug. 26, 1941. A. ra. PETERSON AUTOMOBILE HOOD AND HINGE Original Filed July 9, 15.938 I5 Sheets-,Sheet l .ZYV'HZOW- Hikari Pale/1507? 26-194L lA. PETERSON 2,254,088

, AUTOMOBFLE HOOD A'ND HINGE I Original Filed July 9, 1938 I5 Sheets-.Sheet 2 [7e V622 of? Aug.` 26,.1 941*. A. E.A |=|5rERsc -ny 2,254,088

AUToM-oBILE Hoon AND HINGE or'iginalmled Ju1y. 9,19:58 3 sheets-sheet 5 Patented Aug. 26, 1941 Arthur E. Peterson, Chicago, Ill., assign'r to Chil' cago Forging & Manufacturing Company, Chif cago, Ill., a corporation of Illinois Originalapplicationv vJuly 9, 1938, 'Serial ANo. 218,374. Divided and this application August 4, 1939, Serial No. 288,268

4 Claims. (Cl. 16-179) k My invention relates to improvements in automobile hood hinges and especially to do with that type of hood hinge which is used in connection with automobile hoods wherein the upper portion of the hood only is raised and wherein the hood is -pivoted4 at the front end of the vehicle. y

One object is the provision of an improved hinge structure for the forwardend of the hood.

Another object is the provision of a hinge structure for the forward end of the hood which is particularly adapted Vfor hood structures vin under the influence yof the 4spring yto raise the front end of the hood above and move it'forwhich the rear end 'of the hood is raised, for

example, by the employment of a handle located within the interior of the vehicle and adjacent the seat of the operator. y f

Other objects will appear from time to time\ throughout the specification and claims.

I illustrate my invention more orless diagrammatically in the accompanying drawings, wherein: e

vFig. 1 is a longitudinal vertical section through a hood illustrating my hinge in position when the, hood is in lowered position;

Fig. 2 isa view similar to Fig. 1, with the rear.

end of the hood raised; and

Fig. 3 is a plan-'view with parts broken away and parts in horizontal section. f

'I'his is a division of my co-pending appli ation Serial No. 218,374, filed on July 9, 1938, ssued as United States Letters Patent No. 2,193,111,1o'n

March 12, 1940. l

Like parts are indicated by like characters throughout the specication and drawings.'y Referring to the drawings, 25 is the engine housing. In this case, it is shown as a one-piece structure comprising two diagonal side panels with a curved portion joining them, which may -'be a radiator grille. These side members immediately behind the curved portion are'reinforced and joined by a cross member 26, upon which is a bracket 21, on which is pivoted a hinge memberA 28, on the front e'nd of the hood 29, in order thatfwhen the hood is closed it may present an unobstructed smooth surface, and in order to permit pivoting of the upper part of the hood on the lower. The bracket 21 carries a fixed pin 290, which travels ina slot 29| in the hinge member 28. A spring 30, anchored at one end on-the pin 290, and at the other end on a 'yoke or stirrup 3|, extending rearwardly from the hinge member 28, in part supports the weight.-

of the forward end of the hood, and when the hood is lifted from its partially open position.

wardly in front of the remainder of the body,y

whereby upward rotation of the hood`may takel place without interference. .I2 is a togglestructure pivoted ture is pivoted to the dash -34. Thistoggle structure 'is free to be swung slightly oir center to lock the hood in open position. 35, are latch brackets on the cross bar 33, oneat eachA` side.

These latch brackets are made up of two gen- `erally parallel elements 36,'A i1, "the upper one 36 being longer than the lower one 3l. '58 is a ,Y latch crank mounted in bearings, on the dash vof the vehicle and having latch members 45 at each end adapted to,engage the latch brackets 4l is the actuatingv crank portion of thelatch bar. It is operated by meansof a connecting rod 42, from a hand lever 4I, pivotedlona bracket j 44, on theV dash inthe "drivers compartment. .25 When the hand lever 43 is ln the rearmost position, it rotates the cranks downwardly Vto lock the hood in position. When it. is pushed forwardly, itrst releases the latch and then applies pressure to the upper longer latch engaging `portion to raise the hood slightly so that the ,operator may first release the latch, then raise the hood slightly, then get out of the car and raise the hood the rest of theway. By this arrangement, of course ,the operator is assured that when the hood is locked and the car is locked, access to the engine is prevented.

It will be understood that the handle 43 can be positioned above its pivot and that in such event it is moved down instead of up toward the locking position.

' :the housing 45 is effectively sealed to prevent or gas from the engine compartment, without in any way interfering with the operation of the hood latch from the engine compartment.

It will be realized that whereas I have de-y scribed and illustrated a practical and operative device` nevertheless many changes may be madeas it rotates, the forward end slides forwardly in the Size Shape number and dislmsitin 0f y at one end'y on a cross bar 33, extending across the hood at ,its rear end. The other end of the togglestruckthe entrance to the drivers compartment of air parts without departing .from the spirit of my invention. I therefore wish my description and drawings to be taken as in a broad sense illustrative or diagrammatic, rather than as limiting me to my precise showing.

The use and operation of my invention are as follows:

Because of the fact that modern hoods enclosing automobile engines now in many` instances are hinged above the engine and on axes perpendicular to the axis of the automobile and so are stiffer and more rigid than those of the past, it has become of the utmost importance to so mount the hood that it will be held in the closed position in rigid' locked relationship with the remainder of the housing. Therefore, the hood which I have designed is, so to speak, a three-point supported hood. It is pivoted at the front end and adapted to move up and down about that pivot. It is locked at the rear end at two widely spaced points on opposite sides of the vehicle body so that a three-point support or lock is provided, which insures that the hood will be positively and rmly seated.

'I'he initial opening of the hood, in response to the unlatching, as illustrated in Fig. 2, causes the hood to rotate about the pivot 290, impartinga slight rotation. As soon as the hood is raised above the initial opening position to which it is constrained by the latch, the spring, associated with the stirrup,.slides the hood forwardly into the position shown in Fig. 2, so as to enable thev hood 29 to clear the housing 25.

I claim:

l. For use with an automobile hood and closure therefor, a hinge for the front end of the closure,

including a bracket mounted on the hood and having a generally horizontal transverse pivot member, a hinge member on the closure slotted to receive the pivot member and slidable in relation thereto and rotatable about the axis thereof, the pivot member abutting against the front end of the slot when the closure is in closed position, and a spring adapted to impart a forward movement to the forward end of the closure when the closure is raised, and to thereby bring the rear end of the slot into contact with the pivot when the closure is rotated to raised position, said slot, when the closure is in closed position, being forwardly and upwardly inclined,

2. For use with an automobile hood and closure therefor, a hinge for the front end of the closure, including a bracket mounted on the hood and having a generally horizontal transverse pivot member, a hinge member on the closure slotted to receive the pivot member and slidable in relation thereto and rotatable about theaxis thereof, the pivot member abutting against the front end of the slot when the closure is in closed position, and a spring adapted to impart a forward movement to the forward end of the closure when the closure is raised, and to thereby bring the rear end of the slot into contact with the pivot when the closure is rotated to raised position, said slot, when the closure is in closed position, being forwardly and upwardly inclined, and being generally horizontal when the rear end of the closure is raised.

3. For use with an automobile hood and closure therefor, a hinge for the front end ofthe closure, including a bracket mounted on the hood and having a generally horizontal transverse pivot member, a hinge member on the closure slotted to receive the pivot member and slidable in relation thereto and rotatable about the axis thereof, the pivot member abutting against the front end of the slot when the closure is in closed position, and a spring adapted to impart a forward movement to the forward end of the closure when the closure is raised, and to thereby bring the rear end ofthe slot into contact with the pivot when the closure is rotated to raised position, one end of said spring being secured to the pivot member, and the opposite end being secured to a rearwardly extending portion of the hinge member.

4. For use with an automobile hood and closure therefor, a hinge for the front end of the closure, including a pair of laterally spaced bracket arms upwardly extending from the hood, a horizontal transversely extending pivot pin extending between and mounted on the bracket arms, a hinge member on the closure having a pair of parallel generally vertical side members, each such side member being slotted, the pin passing through said slots, the pin abutting against the front ends -of said slots when the closure is in closed position, a yoke connecting the side members of the hinge member, and a spring adapted to impart forward movement tothe forward end of the closure when the closure is raised, and to thereby bring the rear ends of the slots into contact with the pivot when the closure is rotated to raised position, one end of said spring being secured to the pivotpin and the other to said yoke. ARTHUR E. PETERSON. 

